The government of New Zealand has backed a local crypto savings and trading platform with $330,000 to expand its reach.

Crypto Savings Firm Vimba Raises $330,000 from New Zealand Government

Vimba, formerly known as MyCryptoSaver, originally founded as MyBitcoinSaver in 2014, is focused on crypto savings with a service that allows users to put their money into Bitcoin in small weekly amounts. Through the government’s innovation arm, Callaghan Innovation, it is backing the Auckland-based startup.

Sam Blackmore, CEO of Vimba, said the government’s investment will be used to build crypto wallets and to expand the digital currency offering on the platform, Scoop reported.

“This is a truly significant investment from Callaghan Innovation and a real show of faith in the future of this very exciting asset class,” Blackmore said. “The money will go towards new key features for our expanding service. We will use it to build secure multi-signature crypto wallets for our users and we’re also looking into expanding the range of cryptocurrencies available to them — beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum.”

Vimba’s long-term approach to cryptocurrency investment has been a success and allowed the business to manage $6.5 million worth of Bitcoin of its 5,616 users. The founders’ belief that Bitcoin will ultimately be worth $600,000 discourages day trading and swing trading.

“Volatile periods are to be expected and have been happening from the genesis of Bitcoin. The long-term trendline has always been up and our outlook is long term. We believe Bitcoin will at least reach the market cap of gold as it is a more efficient, more accessible, more secure version of that rare asset. For it to reach the market cap of gold, one Bitcoin would be worth around $600,000 — more than 60 times what it’s worth today.”

Vimba’s customers share the same long-term view of cryptocurrency and distributed ledger technology, which explains the stability of its user base in times of bear markets. As Bitcoin trades at the $6,300 area in an increasingly boring market, Blackmore is confident the nascent technology will fuel bulls’ bids.

“Some people ask whether the crypto ship has already sailed and whether it’s too late to start investing, but when you take the long-term view, it’s clear this is still just the beginning.”

The New Zealand-based firm will launch its cryptocurrency savings platform in the United Kingdom in the coming weeks. Prior to Callaghan Innovation’s $330,000 investment today, Vimba had raised $400,000 in a seed round in 2017.